115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1616 

AN ACT 

To award the Congressional Gold Medal to Bob Dole, in 

recognition for his service to the nation as a soldier, 

legislator, and statesman. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
2 

†S 1616 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bob Dole Congres3 sional Gold Medal Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Bob Dole was born on July 22, 1923, in 

7 Russell, Kansas. 

8 (2) Growing up during the Great Depression, 

9 Bob Dole learned the values of hard work and dis10 cipline, and worked at a local drug store. 

11 (3) In 1941, Bob Dole enrolled at the Univer12 sity of Kansas as a pre-medical student. During his 

13 time at KU he played for the basketball, football, 

14 and track teams, and joined the Kappa Sigma Fra15 ternity, from which he would receive the ‘‘Man of 

16 the Year’’ award in 1970. 

17 (4) Bob Dole’s collegiate studies were inter18 rupted by WWII, and he enlisted in the United 

19 States Army. During a military offensive in Italy, he 

20 was seriously wounded while trying to save a fellow 

21 soldier. Despite his grave injuries, Dole recovered 

22 and was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze 

23 Star with an Oak Cluster for his service. He also re24 ceived an American Campaign Medal, a European25 African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and a 

26 World War II Victory Medal. 
3 

†S 1616 ES

1 (5) While working on his law degree from 

2 Washburn University, Bob Dole was elected into the 

3 Kansas House of Representatives, serving from 

4 1951–1953. 

5 (6) Bob Dole was elected into the U.S. House 

6 of Representatives and served two Kansas districts 

7 from 1961–1969. 

8 (7) In 1969, Bob Dole was elected into the U.S. 

9 Senate and served until 1996. Over the course of 

10 this period, he served as Chairman of the Repub11 lican National Committee, Chairman of the Finance 

12 Committee, Senate Minority Leader, and Senate 

13 Majority Leader. 

14 (8) Bob Dole was known for his ability to work 

15 across the aisle and embrace practical bipartisanship 

16 on issues such as Social Security. 

17 (9) Bob Dole has been a life-long advocate for 

18 the disabled and was a key figure in the passing of 

19 the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. 

20 (10) After his appointment as Majority Leader, 

21 Bob Dole set the record as the nation’s longest-serv22 ing Republican Leader in the Senate. 

23 (11) Several Presidents of the United States 

24 have specially honored Bob Dole for his hard work 
4 

†S 1616 ES

1 and leadership in the public sector. This recognition 

2 is exemplified by the following: 

3 (A) President Reagan awarded Bob Dole 

4 the Presidential Citizens Medal in 1989 stating, 

5 ‘‘Whether on the battlefield or Capitol Hill, 

6 Senator Dole has served America heroically. 

7 Senate Majority Leader during one of the most 

8 productive Congresses of recent time, he has 

9 also been a friend to veterans, farmers, and 

10 Americans from every walk of life. Bob Dole 

11 has stood for integrity, straight talk and 

12 achievement throughout his years of distin13 guished public service.’’. 

14 (B) Upon awarding Bob Dole with the 

15 Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1997, Presi16 dent Clinton made the following comments, 

17 ‘‘Son of the soil, citizen, soldier and legislator, 

18 Bob Dole understands the American people, 

19 their struggles, their triumphs and their dreams 

20 . . . In times of conflict and crisis, he has 

21 worked to keep America united and strong . . . 

22 our country is better for his courage, his deter23 mination, and his willingness to go the long 

24 course to lead America.’’. 
5 

†S 1616 ES

1 (12) After his career in public office, Bob Dole 

2 became an active advocate for the public good. He 

3 served as National Chairman of the World War II 

4 Memorial Campaign, helping raise over $197 million 

5 to construct the National WWII Memorial, and as 

6 Co-Chair of the Families of Freedom Scholarship 

7 Fund, raising over $120 million for the educational 

8 needs of the families of victims of 9/11. 

9 (13) From 1997–2001, Bob Dole served as 

10 chairman of the International Commission on Miss11 ing Persons in the Former Yugoslavia. 

12 (14) In 2003, Bob Dole established The Robert 

13 J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of 

14 Kansas to encourage bipartisanship in politics. 

15 (15) Bob Dole is a strong proponent of inter16 national justice and, in 2004, received the Golden 

17 Medal of Freedom from the President of Kosovo for 

18 his support of democracy and freedom in Kosovo. 

19 (16) In 2007, President George W. Bush ap20 pointed Bob Dole to co-chair the President’s Com21 mission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded 

22 Warriors, which inspected the system of medical 

23 care received by U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq 

24 and Afghanistan. 
6 

†S 1616 ES

1 (17) Bob Dole was the co-creator of the McGov2 ern-Dole International Food for Education and 

3 Child Nutrition Program, helping combat child hun4 ger and poverty. In 2008, he was co-awarded the 

5 World Food Prize for his work with this organiza6 tion. 

7 (18) Bob Dole is co-founder of the Bipartisan 

8 Policy Center which works to develop policies suit9 able for bipartisan support. 

10 (19) Bob Dole is a strong advocate for vet11 erans, having volunteered on a weekly basis for more 

12 than a decade on behalf of the Honor Flight Net13 work. 

14 (20) Bob Dole serves as Finance Chairman of 

15 the Campaign for the National Eisenhower Memo16 rial, leading the private fundraising effort to memo17 rialize President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Wash18 ington, DC. 

19 (21) Bob Dole was acknowledged by many or20 ganizations for his achievements both inside and 

21 outside of politics, including being awarded the 

22 ‘‘U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Outstanding 

23 Public Service By An Elected Official’’, the Gold 

24 Good Citizenship Award, the American Patriot 

25 Award, the Survivor’s Gratitude Award, the U.S. 
7 

†S 1616 ES

1 Association of Former Member of Congress Distin2 guished Service Award, a Distinguished Service 

3 Medal, the French Legion of Honor medal, the Ho4 ratio Alger Award, the U.S. Defense Department’s 

5 Distinguished Public Service Award, the National 

6 Collegiate Athletic Association’s Teddy Roosevelt 

7 Award, the Albert Schweitzer Medal ‘‘for out8 standing contributions to animal welfare’’, the 2004 

9 Sylvanus Thayer Award, and honorary degrees from 

10 the University of Kansas, Fort Hays State Univer11 sity, and the University of New Hampshire School 

12 of Law. 

13 (22) Throughout his life-long service to our 

14 country, Bob Dole has embodied the American spirit 

15 of leadership and determination, and serves as one 

16 of the most prolific role models both in and outside 

17 of politics. 

18 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

19 (a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the 

20 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 

21 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 

22 award, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appro23 priate design to Bob Dole, in recognition for his service 

24 to the nation as a soldier, legislator, and statesman. 
8 

†S 1616 ES

1 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purpose of the 

2 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

3 Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

4 strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 

5 inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary. 

6 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

7 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

8 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3 under 

9 such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at a price 

10 sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, mate11 rials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, and 

12 the cost of the gold medal. 

13 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

14 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 

15 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

16 of title 31, United States Code. 

17 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

18 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

19 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

20 items. 

Passed the Senate August 3, 2017. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1616 

AN ACT 

To award the Congressional Gold Medal to Bob 

as a soldier, legislator, and statesman. Dole, in recognition for his service to the nation